The program is designed to accomplish the following educational objectives:

• Enhance the student's competence in the content,?theories, principles,?and methods of criminal justice.
• Prepare ?students ?for ?administrative ?and ?management ?positions ?in federal, state and local criminal justice agencies.
• Prepare students for entry-level positions requiring graduate degrees, such as federal probation, parole and law enforcement agencies.
• Prepare students for academic study beyond the master's degree.
• Develop, through ?faculty ?and ?graduate ?research, a ?criminal ?justice knowledge base concerning issues unique to the region, including Mexico, and Central and South America.
• Provide a resource for federal, state and local criminal justice agencies in need of administrative assistance in policy analysis, development and program evaluation.